Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 448 New Policies (Part Four)

Magistrate Jiang is forty-three years old this year and comes from a prominent family in Bingzhou. He has no official rank and was appointed magistrate through family donations. After becoming magistrate, he became extremely greedy.

Magistrate Jiang was a shrewd man, adept at amassing wealth. He didn't solicit bribes directly, nor did he manipulate land taxes. Coming from a prominent family, he looked down on paltry sums; if he was going to be greedy, he'd go for the big stuff. Two mountains under his jurisdiction contained a copper mine. Magistrate Jiang didn't report it, instead appropriating the mine for himself. The laborers working in the mine were all prisoners from the county jail.

These prisoners, mostly from ordinary backgrounds, had indeed broken the law. They were sent to work in mines deep in the mountains almost immediately after entering prison. They had nowhere to seek justice.

Relying solely on convicts to mine was never enough. The clever Magistrate Jiang then turned his attention to the displaced people. He sent his constables to arrest the displaced people and send them directly into the deep mountains.

Those who become refugees are already destitute people with nowhere else to go. They starve or die of disease by the roadside, and no one cares. If a few or a dozen are missing, who will even notice?
Using this method, Magistrate Jiang amassed a fortune from the copper mine over the years, and surprisingly, he never caused any trouble.

This time, Magistrate Jiang was simply following standard procedure. He truly hadn't expected that during the transfer of refugees, one clever individual would escape. Fueled by anger, the refugee fled all the way to Yan County, finding himself outside the prefectural governor's residence, where he beat the drum to appeal for justice. Prefect Tang dared not conceal the matter and reported it directly to the Emperor.

When the emperor was angered, Magistrate Jiang was doomed.

Pei Yan led two hundred imperial guards and rode at full speed to the Lixian County government office.

When the menacing Commander Pei entered with his long sword, Magistrate Jiang's legs went weak with fear. None of the twenty-odd yamen runners dared to step forward to stop him; they all lowered their heads, shrank back, and dared not utter a sound.

Magistrate Jiang attempted to argue, but Pei Yan didn't listen to a word he said. She brandished her long sword and said, "Whatever you have to say, wait until you see the Emperor! Men, tie him up!"

Pei Yue and Pei Wan stepped forward in response. Both of them were used to binding prisoners since childhood, and their movements were very swift. In a short while, they had bound Magistrate Jiang like a dead pig. Pei Yue found Magistrate Jiang's loud cries of injustice noisy, so he stuffed a smelly wad of cloth into Magistrate Jiang's mouth.

The entire process took no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; Magistrate Jiang was apprehended with astonishing speed.

Pei Yan, though seemingly rough, was actually quite shrewd. He ordered the county magistrate of Li County to act as the county magistrate, and also arrested the county magistrate's trusted advisors and servants. After finding the location of the mine, he released seventy or eighty emaciated and hunchbacked men. Those who should be imprisoned were put in jail, while the displaced people were properly settled by the county government.

Five days later, Magistrate Jiang, bound like a dead pig, was brought before Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe looked coldly at Magistrate Jiang.

Magistrate Jiang felt a chill run through him and trembled uncontrollably.

In the hearts of the northern people, Pei Qinghe was a war god descended to earth, a wise and benevolent emperor sent to them by heaven. For wealthy families, sacrificing half of their fortune was a way to survive, far better than being wiped out. Those who truly feared Pei Qinghe were the military generals who opposed him, and the insatiably greedy and corrupt officials. Pei Qinghe never hesitated to kill these people.

Pei Yan stepped forward and removed the rag from Magistrate Jiang's mouth. Magistrate Jiang was finally able to speak, and he burst into tears, pleading, "Your Majesty, I was momentarily confused and did something wrong. I dare not argue! I beg Your Majesty to give me a chance to repent."

Pei Qinghe sneered: "You don't know you're wrong, you only regret it when you realize you have no way out!"

Magistrate Jiang struggled desperately, collapsing to the ground in a disheveled state. Unable to kneel and kowtow, he could only slam his forehead against the ground: "Your Majesty, I beg you to spare my life! Your Majesty has only held the throne for a few months, and this is precisely the time to win over your subjects. Killing may bring momentary pleasure, but it will have endless consequences! Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!"

Pei Qinghe chuckled and said to Pei Yan, "Look at this Magistrate Jiang, he's not stupid at all, he understands all the principles. But he just can't control his greed and is still hoping to get away with it. He's delusional and thinks he can get away with it."

"If I want to win over my ministers, they must be ministers worth winning over. Such parasites are of no use. Cut them off immediately, preserve their heads with lime, and send men to display their skulls to all the prefectural and county offices in the North. Let all civil officials see them, so they may be warned." Magistrate Jiang, seeing his inevitable death, was terrified, his face drained of color, a pool of liquid beneath him. As Pei Yan grinned maliciously and tried to drag him away, he cried out in despair, "Most of the prefectural and county magistrates in the North are like this! Can you kill them all? Pei Qinghe! What can you do besides kill? If it weren't for your superior martial prowess and tens of thousands of elite soldiers under your command, who would bow down to you?"

Pei Qinghe was not provoked and said coldly, "If we can't kill them all, we'll kill them slowly and replace them gradually. If one or two years isn't enough, we'll use eight, ten, twenty, or thirty years. Eventually, we can make the administration more transparent."

"You don't need to worry about that! Pei Yan, take him and kill him!"

After Magistrate Jiang's head was chopped off, it was placed in a wooden box and, while it was still fresh, sent to Prefect Tang for a quick look.

When Prefect Tang saw the bloody, mangled head, he shuddered.

Suddenly, I felt a cool sensation on my neck.

Emperor Zhaoyuan, who conquered the world on horseback, was ruthless. He killed military generals and civil officials alike without hesitation.

“Prefect Tang,” the tall, burly Commander Pei grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, “I’ll leave this head for you for two days, how about you take your time to look at it?”

Prefect Tang shuddered, his voice trembling: "No need...no need. This head is still very useful, Commander Pei, just take it...take it."

Pei Yan glanced at Prefect Tang, whose legs were weak and face pale, and curled her lips into a mocking smile. She closed the wooden box, picked it up, and strode out.

Prefect Tang breathed a deep sigh of relief and slumped into his chair.

After learning of this, Prime Minister Pang and Minister Qin remained silent for a long time.

"The Emperor is young and impetuous, and he shows no mercy." Prime Minister Pang suddenly spoke up: "The fact that the head wasn't delivered to us shows that the Emperor has spared us some dignity. However, we should also keep this in mind and be more cautious in our actions in the future."

Minister Qin nodded solemnly: "What the Prime Minister says is true."

The dynasty has changed; now the Pei family rules the world. Emperor Zhaoyuan is young, brave, shrewd, and capable, and possesses the determination, courage, and means to reform the bureaucracy.

They should also be promptly alerted and change their past bad habits in officialdom.

The task of delivering the heads naturally fell to Pei Yan.

Pei Qinghe ordered Yang Huai to accompany Pei Yan. The couple, along with two hundred elite cavalry, embarked on a journey to inspect the Northern Prefecture Governor's Office and government offices.

Within half a month, the news had spread throughout the north, and all the prefects and magistrates knew the whole story. Suddenly, the efficiency of handling official business in various places increased significantly.

(End of this chapter)